Bob Cooney

Royal Ivey is officially back with the 76ers. The 6-4 guard, who agreed to terms last week, passed his physical examination this afternoon and signed a contract.

The deal is believed to be for one year, for slightly more than the minimum. In Ivey's case, that should bring him within shouting distance of $1 million.

Ivey had opted out of the second leg of his original contract, but remained interested in returning.

"We're very, very happy to be back in Philadelphia,'' said Keith Glass, Ivey's agent. ''When we opted out, it wasn't a reflection on the Sixers, it was a belief than Royal was worth more than the minimum, and that's been born out.''

Ivey appeared in 71 games last season, averaging 3.0 points in 12.1 minutes.